The Gift
by S.E. Ripley
Summary: Luke helps Reid celebrate with a sweet surprise. thanks to melissa and jazz. only two chapters
1. The Gift

"You got me a dog?" Reid asked happily, crouching down to pet the small furry creature who was still hopping around excitedly.

"Well, it was between that and a gold fish, but I figured a dog is harder to ignore if you forget to feed it. A goldfish wouldn't stand a chance around here," Luke teased. Reid looked back at him with a mock glare. "Plus, they do say that a dog is a man's best friend, and I figured you could use some company now that you have this place to yourself."

It was a medium sized dog that looked mostly like a lab, but it was smaller than most labs and obviously has a few other breeds mixed in. He laughed at how playful the dog was. Luke had already mentioned that it was about two years old, but apparently it was still a puppy at heart. Reid pat the brown mutt affectionately on the head before rising to his feet again, turning slowly to Luke.

"I thought _you_ were going to be here enough that I didn't have to worry about company," he said in a low voice, unable to contain the grin on his lips. He stood before Luke, who was grinning with flushed cheeks, hands awkwardly in his front pockets.

"Yeah, well, I can't be here _all_ the time," said Luke, just watching with amusement as Reid took another two steps closer.

"Well then I guess I better make the best of whatever time you graciously bestow upon me," Reid laughed softly, taking the final step toward Luke and cupping his face. He kissed him hard, though not necessarily jumping into a deep kiss just yet. Luke put his hands on Reid's forearms, holding the somewhat older man close and smiling. Suddenly, their new companion barked.

Reid and Luke pulled back, hands still clinging to one another, and looked down at the dog, who was whining at their feet and nudging Reid with his paw.

"I can't quite place it, but the whining reminds me of someone. I think I'll name him _Luciano_," Reid proclaimed and Luke stared at him with an open mouthed smile and surprised eyes. He shoved Reid playfully.

"Very funny," he said, ignoring Reid's laughing in the background. Luke crouched this time and started petting the dog who ceased whining immediately.

"It's a good thing Katie isn't here. This may not be her place anymore but she would have a fit if she saw a dog in her overly-white house," Reid said as he walked into the kitchen, pulling a beer and a soda from the fridge.

"Yeah, I thought about getting you a white dog, but all of those looked more like pillows than animals," Luke laughed. "Plus, I figure that you'll probably end up painting this place, eventually. Assuming you ever take the time," he grinned as Reid handed him the soda and plopped down on the couch.

"Maybe I'll take a day off next week and do some remodeling," Reid said sarcastically. Luke grinned and sat down beside him, leaving very little space.

"So, any ideas for a name?" Luke asked, taking a sip of his soda. The dog was sprawled at their feet.

"I told you, Luciano," Reid said half-seriously and Luke nudged him. "Ow, alright. Um. No idea. How about… Bob? Or better yet, Doogie," Reid grinned, bringing the beer to his lips. Luke shook his head.

"You're horrible, you know that?" Luke laughed.

"Yeah, well, what can I say," Reid shrugged, taking another sip of his beer before reaching over and setting it down on the table beside the couch.

The two fell into an easy silence at that point, naturally adjusting on the couch so that Reid's arm was over the back, hand falling on Luke's shoulders. Luke leaned into him a bit, eyes on the TV. The baseball game was on, something they had already joked plenty about earlier in the day before Luke had disappeared to his car to retrieve his "moving in present". The volume was turned down to the point that it was nearly muted, but they could still watch what was going on. They sat like that for a while. Reid's fingers would play along Luke's shoulder absently and after a few minutes Luke sat his can down on the coffee table before falling back into Reid and resting his head against his shoulder.

Two innings went by before either of them moved. Their least favorite sound began to chirp from the kitchen, making them both groan. Luke sat up instinctively. Reid gave Luke's shoulder a soft squeeze, kissed the top of his head, and then carefully peeled himself from the couch with a sigh. Luke leaned against the couch now, still watching the game but listening for Reid.

Picking up his beeper, Reid looked down with a frown.

"It's the hospital," he said, though he knew Luke already knew that. "I've gotta go," he said unhappily, walking briskly over to the couch and kissing Luke on the head again before walking past, grabbing his brown coat from the rack beside the door. Luke gave a weak smile, looking up at him. Reid hesitated in the doorway, and smiled.

"Maybe you can brainstorm dog name ideas while I'm gone," he said with his usual cheeky grin. Luke managed a real laugh.

"Just go," he smiled.

"Be here when I get back?" Reid asked.

"Probably," Luke grinned. "Someone has to take care of your new best friend."

Reid smiled, genuinely smiled. "I won't be long," he promised.

"You better come home bearing dinner," Luke called as Reid began to close the door. He stopped, looked back in with a wide smile, and nodded.

"Will do," he said before stepping into the hall and shutting the door behind him.

Luke sighed. Man did he hate that beeper.

"C'mere, boy," he called, patting the couch and calling the dog up onto the couch. "What are we gonna name you, huh?" Luke said out loud to the dog, putting him behind the ear. He slumped a little, grabbing the remote and turning up the volume. The dog sat patiently beside him, wagging its tail.


	2. The Beeper

It had been around six o'clock when Reid had left for the hospital. The hours dragged on at an even pace, not necessarily slow but hardly fast either. Luke and the nameless pup continued to watch baseball though it didn't take long for Luke to pass out only a few more innings in. Around seven thirty the dog started barking. Luke woke with a bit of a start, rubbing his eyes and immediately looking toward the door, hoping the dog was being noisy because Reid was back. When the door never budged, he frowned. He was now well awake, especially once the dog started panting beside him. Luke laughed a little and shooed the dog away so he could get up.

"You hungry, boy?" he asked the dog, who just continued to stare with his mouth open, wagging his tail. Luke smiled. "Alright, let's get you some food."

Luke had also bought a pillow bed, food and water bowls, a leash, and a bag of dog food to get Reid started. The dog was already house trained so at least that wasn't a concern. Grabbing his keys, Luke left the apartment and went out to his car. Awkwardly carrying everything inside he pushed open the door with his foot, careful not to let the dog out in the process. As soon as he set the pillow bed up behind the couch the dog laid down happily. Luke smiled happily, pulling the bowls from the bag along with the food. He filled the water bowl in the sink and as soon as he set it down on the kitchen floor the dog came jumping over, drinking the water like he'd never tasted water. Smiling, Luke poured some food into the other bowl and sat it down beside. At first the dog only paid attention to the water but eventually began chewing on the food bits as well. Luke stored the dog food up in one of the cupboards before returning to the couch.

Flipping through the channels Luke could feel himself slowly falling asleep again. Just as his head began to bob, the dog barked again, making him jump. It stood there, wagging its tail again and staring at Luke with his bright puppy dog eyes. Luke frowned.

"Now what?" he asked. The dog continued to stare at him. Luke sighed. "Let me guess, you need to go out," he said. The dog still didn't move. Finally Luke pulled himself from the couch and grabbed the leash that was also in the bag. He led the dog outside and let it do its business before leading it back into the apartment. Once he removed the leash the dog went back to his bed. Luke laid back down on the couch, attempting to focus on the cooking show that was currently on the screen, but just as before he let himself drift to sleep.

He woke again when he felt something jump on his feet. Looking down he saw the dog curled up at the end of the couch, staring at him. He groaned, glancing at the time on his watch. Eight forty five. He frowned, wondering how late Reid would be. "You can wake me up when Reid's home, but no sooner," Luke instructed groggily. The dog barely blinked. Luke yawned and fell back into the corner of the couch.

It was nearly ten o'clock when the front door finally opened. Reid was already shaking off his coat when he stepped inside, juggling the bag in his hands and immediately seeing the sleeping Luke on the couch. He grinned, hanging his coat beside the door. He passed Luke at first and went to the kitchen to sit the bag down on the counter. The dog was laying on it's pillow bed again, which made Reid grin as well. He also noticed the food and water bowls and knew that Luke had thought of everything, as always.

Smiling, he quietly approached the couch where Luke was sleeping. Lowing himself next to the couch he reached out and began to run his fingers through Luke's hair. He then leaned close as if to kiss the sleeping beauty, but instead, he formed a small 'O' with his lips and began to blow air over Luke's face, mostly on his nose. He watched, trying not to laugh, as Luke's face scrunched and his nose twitched.

"Go away," Luke groaned, eyes still mostly shut. Reid laughed.

"Alright then, if you insist," he said softly. Luke opened his eyes, looking up with happy surprise.

"Hey," he said happily. Reid laughed again and leaned forward to kiss him softly.

"Morning sleepy head," he teased. Luke smiled, rolling over a bit to look at Reid more as his eyes slowly began to wake up.

"Mmm, I smell chicken," said Luke.

"That you do," Reid replied. "Awake enough to eat?" he asked as he stood up, moving into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm starving actually," Luke said, sitting up and slowly climbing to his feat, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Really? I figured you would have gotten something to eat," Reid said as he pulled plates from the cupboard.

"I've been sleeping," Luke grinned. "And I wanted to wait for you," he said, coming into the kitchen gently knocking shoulders with Reid, who turned back with a grin.

"Come up with any name ideas?" Reid asked, nodding toward the sleeping dog.

"Actually, I did," Luke said, leaning back on the kitchen counter. Reid looked up curiously to see Luke grinning. He put down the piece of chicken in his hands and licked his fingers, turning with a smirk to face the blond.

"Why am I afraid to ask?" Reid asked, making Luke laugh. Luke reached up scratched his ear, shaking his head.

"It's nothing bad," he reassured Reid, who just narrowed his eyes teasingly. "Well, he has horrible timing and kept waking me up as soon as I fell asleep," Luke began. Reid cocked a brow at him curiously. "It kind of reminded me of something," Luke grinned, stepping forward. Reid watched him, grinning and waiting to see what he was doing. Luke moved right up next to him and put his hands on Reid's waist, then let his hands fall down to his hips. Reid took a deep breath to steady himself. Luke's hand continued to move before unclipping the small device from Reid's belt and holding it up in between them. "Sound familiar?" he asked, shaking the pager in his hands.

Reid laughed louder than he meant to. "Beeper? You want to call my dog Beeper?" he asked. Luke sat the beeper down on the counter before turning back to Reid, locking his arms around his slender waist and shrugging.

"It's a thought," Luke laughed.

"I like Doogie better."

They both laughed, the sound stopped only as their lips met in a lazy kiss. Reid sighed happily, wrapping his arms around Luke as well.

"I think we still have some brainstorming to do," Reid said, pulling back from the kiss. "Want to know where I do my best brainstorming?" he asked with a seductive smirk.

"Hmm, I think I can guess," Luke grinned, kissing Reid lightly. They parted with smiles on their faces, again falling into a fairly typical routine. Reid pushed the plates and food back on the counter, but Luke reached around him, shaking his head with a laugh and grabbing the box of chicken, sticking it in the fridge. Reid shrugged and started flipping off lights.

"Sleep well, Doogie," he said to the dog as he flipped off the main light in the living room.

"You're not naming him Doogie," Luke called, flipping off the kitchen light. The hallway light was all that was left, glowing into the room.

"Of course not," Reid said with a grin. Luke didn't believe him for a second. He didn't say anything, though, and instead came up to Reid and took his hand.

"Let's not talk dog names," Luke laughed pleadingly, linking his arms around Reid's neck and hanging on him sweetly.

"I thought you wanted me to improve my small talking skills," Reid said sarcastically.

"Oh, so you want to sit and talk then?" said Luke.

Reid wrapped his arms around the other man's waist possessively, pressing them closer together. "Definitely not," Reid grinned, claiming Luke's lips in an eager kiss. They stumbled back through the hallway, not bothering to hit the lights as they closed Reid's bedroom door behind them.


End file.
